Ex-Ramsey Council Member Elvig man gets 60 days in jail, must pay $24K

Former Ramsey City Council Member David Elvig, convicted of embezzlement this year in a case involving his former business, was sentenced Monday to serve 60 days in jail and pay more than $24,000 in restitution for funds that had been earmarked for employee benefits at the business.

"You were a big fish who ate little fish and you ate them alive," Anoka County Judge Spencer Sokolowski told Elving.

Elvig was convicted of two felony counts in April. He was granted a stay of imposition of five years on one count and a stay of execution on the second count. Without stays, the penalties for the two counts would have been one year and 13 months, respectively.

The $24,520 in restitution that Elvig must pay exceeds the $19,596 he was accused of embezzling from employees of E-Street Makers Inc. of Anoka, a high-end custom furniture and cabinet maker. Elvig, founder and president of the company, must pay interest on funds that were intended for employees' 401(k) and group health and dental plans.

Elvig could not immediately be reached for comment.

According to court records, the funds were embezzled from April 23, 2009, to Jan. 4, 2010, with the planned contributions used to pay business expenses. Elvig's business license was revoked in 2011 over unpaid sales taxes, although he told the Star Tribune that the company closed its doors in December 2009. The Minnesota Department of Revenue says Elvig owes $104,005 in unpaid sales tax. That issue was not connected to his trial. Nor did the case involve his work for the city.

Five days after his conviction, Elvig resigned from the council seat he had held since 2002. He was the longest-tenured member of the seven-person council before he left office.

Ramsey is holding a special election on July 30 to fill Elvig's seat. Jill Johns and Tom Heifort were the only candidates to file.